Agenda item

The report of the Leader of the Council was submitted setting out the details of the business undertaken by the Executive.

 

The Leader and the Cabinet made statements and responded to Questions.

 

The Cabinet Member for Children’s Safeguarding referred to the recent publication of the Serious Case Review findings on the death of Blake Fowler and to the failings that the review had identified. On behalf of the Council, the Cabinet Member wished to place on record the Authority’s apologies for these failings and a reassurance that work was continuing to ensure that such failings would be rectified.

 

The following questions were then submitted in accordance with Council Procedural Rule 11.1:

 

1. Use of Lettings Boards

 

Question from Councillor Claisse to Councillor Letts

 

The North Southampton Community Forum recently wrote to you confirming that the Voluntary Code intended to restrict the use of lettings boards is not working.  They also asked that a Regulation 7 Direction was introduced to significantly reduce the number of Lettings Boards.  Will the Council introduce a Regulation 7 Direction to effectively address this persistent problem?

 

Answer

 

The Planning and Development Manager is currently exploring the feasibility of introducing a Regulation 7 Direction, as part of a comprehensive response to the Overview and Scrutiny Management Panel A’s Inquiry into Maintaining Balanced Neighbourhoods Through Planning. It is expected that a recommendation as to whether or not to proceed will be made in the late summer. Any proposal for a Regulation 7 Direction would be subject to approval by the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government.

 

In the meantime, within the HMO Licensing Area, the Planning and Environmental Health teams have increased the use of Section 225 Notices. These notices are served under the Town & Country Planning Act 1990 and require letting agents to remove “Let By” or incorrectly sited boards after a prescribed period, with the Council taking direct action to remove the boards if the agent fails to comply. In the event of direct action being taken, the Council will pursue reimbursement of the costs from the letting agent.

 

2. Congestion at the junction of Thomas Lewis Way and St. Denys Road

 

Question from Councillor Moulton to Councillor Rayment

 

What is the Cabinet Member doing to address the problem of congestion at the junction of Thomas Lewis Way and St. Denys Road at peak times?

 

Answer

 

A study has been undertaken to assess the traffic signal junction at Thomas Lewis Way and St Denys Road. The study did confirm the eastern arm (St Deny’s Road) does become saturated as it receives a high volume of vehicle movements from each of the other arms. We are currently modelling an option to change the order that the arms of the junction get their green light to improve the flow of traffic through the junction. Whilst this could reduce the delays on St Deny’s Road, there may be a negative impact on Thomas Lewis Way. Given the importance of Thomas Lewis Way as a key strategic route in and out of the City, any changes will need to be carefully considered.

 

We have assessed the St Deny’s Road corridor during peak times and have met with bus operators to identify several potential improvements to improve journey times.

 

3. Itchen Bridge Tolls

 

Question from Councillor Moulton to Councillor Rayment

 

What was the income from the Itchen Bridge tolls in following months: January 2013, February 2013, January 2014, February 2014, January 2015, and February 2015?

 

Answer

 

The figures are as follows:-

January 2013 – £300,439.79, with 519,663 vehicle crossings

February 2013 – £247,048.10 with 496,255 vehicle crossings

January 2014 – £281,110.95 with 496,198 vehicle crossings (4.6% year on year decrease in vehicles)

February 2014 – £215,388.52 with 445,224 vehicle crossings (10.3% year on year  decrease

January 2015 – £286,020.90 with 527,149 vehicle crossings (6.2% year on year  increase in vehicles) (1.5% increase in traffic in two years)

February 2015 – £247,248.79 with 503,155 vehicle crossings (13% year on year increase in vehicles)  (1.4%  increase in traffic in two years)

 

4. Affordable Homes

 

Question from Councillor Baillie to Councillor Payne

 

How many affordable homes has your Administration built since May 2012 in schemes that were entirely your own?

 

Answer

 

Working with Housing Associations 907 new affordable homes will have been provided between 1 April 2012 and 31 March 2015. In addition there are currently a further 315 new homes on site being built that will complete post March 2015.

54 units of council accommodation are currently being built at Erskine Court to provide Extra Care housing. Currently, these are due for completion in June 2016. Further council housing is expected to follow once the authority launches its own development company, scheduled in April 2015.

In addition 11 HRA-funded properties have been developed at Selborne House in Harefield, six at Oatlands House in Shirley, and two further properties have been acquired (at Hollybrook Lodge opposite the General Hospital and Blakeney Road in Millbrook). More are set to follow using Right to Buy receipts under the Existing Satisfactory Purchase Scheme approved at full council in February 2015.

 

5. Regeneration Scheme in Townhill Park

 

Question from Councillor Baillie to Councillor Payne

 

Exactly when did you realise that you could not afford your method of financing the regeneration scheme in Townhill Park?

 

Answer

 

No such point was ever reached.

In summer 2014 the council reviewed all delivery options for Townhill Park, including some that weren’t widely known in 2011/12, including a Development Company (DevCo).

Further work was requested on the DevCo model and by November 2014 – when questions were tabled on estate regeneration delivery models at full council – this was the preferred option.

This has subsequently led to the council seeking to create a DevCo, which will come before the cabinet in April 2015 to outline its principles for citywide development, not just Townhill Park. As for Townhill Park, a specific paper is expected later this year on the back of the DevCo being established.

The delivery model approved by full council in November 2012 remains workable, and could still deliver a significant regeneration at Townhill

Park within the current £62m Housing Revenue Account budget. However, the DevCo model is likely to be more flexible and able to generate more investment and is therefore the preferred option.

 

Additional investment means that the regeneration could, in fact, be expanded from its original brief and made more ambitious. This could include extra homes on top of those originally envisaged (potentially 689 instead of 675), the addition of roof gardens to improve the quality of the new blocks, and extra parking in response to feedback at public consultations.

 

6. Library Consultation

 

Question from Councillor Baillie to Councillor Barnes-Andrews (Councillor Letts responded in the absence of Councillor Barnes-Andrews).

 

Do you regret that so many members of the public have been misled over your Library Consultation?

 

Answer

 

The Library Consultation has been a comprehensive and robust exercise; I have no reason to believe that any members of the public have been misled.

 

7. Care Orders

 

Question from Councillor Parnell to Councillor Chaloner

 

How many cases are under review where parents and grandparents believe that their children have been unfairly taken into care and in some case visiting has been denied?

 

Answer

 

Our care proceedings with families are operated through the Family Law Courts – proceedings within which parents and where appropriate grandparents and other family members can be actively involved and where party to the proceeded represented by their own legal representative. At each hearing the case is reviewed. There are at present no formal appeals in place. 

 

The court always assigns an independent social worker from CAFCASS – whose role it is to advise the judge of the children’s best interests.

 

The first principle for the Local Authority, is the welfare of the children, but we must also, and we do, ensure that wherever it is safe and possible to do so, children are brought up within their own immediate or extended family.

 

We have significant numbers of children who are formally cared for within their wider family network and we are required by Case Law to assess any family members who might be suitable long term carers for all children prior to any plan for adoption outside of the family.

 

We have a detailed statutory complaint procedure that grandparents can access and do and the courts can order assessments of grandparents where they consider that to be in the children’s best interests.

 

Where a case is presented with a disagreement in relation to grandparent contact etc (sometime the parents refuse contact at that remains their legal prerogative where they have parental responsibility) we pass grandparents details of support organisations (family rights group, grandparents association etc.) who may assist them in their concern.

 

8  Litter in Freemantle

 

Question from Councillor Moulton to Councillor Rayment

 

Given the ongoing problems of litter in Freemantle Ward will the Cabinet Member ensure that more bins are provided in litter hot spots?

 

Answer

 

The street cleansing service recognises the importance of adequate provision of street litter bins in encouraging the responsible disposal of litter and helping keep the city’s streets clean.

In order to make the best use of resources, street bin provision is generally targeted on known litter ‘hot spots’ and areas of high public footfall. New sites where bins might be situated in order to help ameliorate local litter problems are either suggested by the district street cleansing team based on their operational experience, or by local residents or resident groups.

Requests for new bin sites across the city are grouped and periodically assessed by the street cleansing team against available budgets, as it is more economic to procure and install new bins in batches rather than as ‘one off’ items.  The bin installation budget must also provide for the repair, renovation and replacement of the existing bin stocks, so once these requirements are taken into account only limited funds are available for the purchase and installation of new stocks. It is therefore important to assess new bin requests from across the city on a firm evidential base, and prioritise areas of greatest demonstrated need.

It is important that new requests are accompanied by robust supporting evidence, to help the service area effectively prioritise available budgets, and ensure new provision targets the areas of greatest need.

 

9 Council accommodation in Townhill Park

 

Question from Councillor Moulton to Councillor Payne

 

How long ago was it that tenants were moved out of Council accommodation in Townhill Park as part of the Estate Regeneration Programme, how many tenants were moved and what is the total lost rental income since that date?

 

Answer

 

A staged decant model for Townhill Park was devised with the Council’s Housing Needs team to manage the process more strategically and to minimise impact on the Housing Register.

The Council is nearing the end of the first of the three phases in that process, which comprises eight blocks. There are currently three tenants and two leaseholders still in residence in phase one, with all other flats now empty.

Figures for Townhill Park phase one:

Decants start: April 2013

First demolitions due: By end of 2015, (2 years 8 months)

Flats in decant process: 136

Estimated lost rental income: £545,117

Estimate lost rental income per flat: £4,008

For comparison, ahead of Townhill Park phase one, the Exford Drive regeneration was the largest scheme of its kind tackled by the council.

Figures for Exford Drive:

Decants start: February 2009

First demolitions: May 2013 (4 years 3 months)

Flats in decant process: 93

Estimated lost rental income: £560,000

Estimate lost rental income per flat: £6,021

Note - The rental figures above are an estimate as the true rent for each unit stops being calculated by Finance once the property is shown as pending demolition. Finance have arrived at the figures shown by applying retrospectively RPI plus 0.5 only to earlier rent for such units